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Moving to lower-poverty neighborhoods reduces risk of obesity, diabetes

Low-income women with children who moved from high-poverty to lower-poverty neighborhoods experienced notable long-term improvements in aspects of their health; namely, reductions in diabetes and extreme obesity, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Chicago and partner institutions.

21 Oct 2011

CMHDRE, DCSNO and CHF team up to help autistic children in New Orleans

The disappearance of reliable healthcare services in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina left many children with asthma no choice but to seek treatment in emergency rooms across town - if they sought care at all. Xavier University of Louisiana's Center for Minority Health & Health Disparities Research and Education, Daughters of Charity Services of New Orleans and the Children's Health Fund have teamed up to reverse that trend by bringing reliable health care directly to these children.

21 Oct 2011

Children's Hospital Los Angeles offers Halloween safety tips

Each year at Halloween, innocent children are placed in danger. Accidents occur, sometimes as a result of strangers, but often through the carelessness of parents. Robert Adler, M.D., vice chairman of Pediatrics at Children's Hospital Los Angeles, wants your family to stay safe this Halloween. Read his handy tips below, share them with friends and keep them close to keep your kids safe. Thank you for staying safe this Halloween.

21 Oct 2011

Vaccines among most successful, cost-effective health investments in history

"Vaccines are among the most successful and cost-effective health investments in history," Seth Berkley, CEO of the GAVI Alliance, writes in this post in the Huffington Post's "Impact" blog. Because vaccines have saved millions of lives, "donors, the global health community and developing countries themselves [must] stay focused on immunization," he writes.

21 Oct 2011

The Guardian interviews GlaxoSmithKline lead researcher about new malaria vaccine

The Guardian features an interview with Moncef Slaoui, now chair of research and development at GlaxoSmithKline, who discusses his 23-year involvement in the research leading to the RTS,S malaria vaccine that has shown to halve the risk of malaria among African children.

21 Oct 2011

Tips for parents, drivers to keep kids safe during Halloween

On average, twice as many kids are killed in pedestrian accidents on Halloween compared to other days of the year. In an effort to keep kids safe this season, injury prevention experts from the University of Michigan's C.S. Mott Children's Hospital urge parents to prepare children to act safely and drivers to take extra precautions.

21 Oct 2011

No unique link between first-trimester ACE inhibitor use and birth defects

Women who take angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors to treat high blood pressure in the first trimester of their pregnancies are at no greater risk of having babies with birth defects than are women who take other types of high blood pressure medication or who take no blood pressure drugs, according to a new study from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

21 Oct 2011

Gastroenterologist cautions against over-prescription of acid-suppressing drugs in infants

Frequent spitting up, irritability, and unexplained crying in infants can be very distressing to parents. Pediatricians often prescribe acid-suppressing drugs for these symptoms in an effort to treat infants for gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD); however, GERD is an uncommon cause of these symptoms in otherwise thriving infants.

21 Oct 2011

Researchers identify facial characteristics of children with autism

The face and brain develop in coordination, with each influencing the other, beginning in the embryo and continuing through adolescence. Now, University of Missouri researchers have found distinct differences between the facial characteristics of children with autism compared to those of typically developing children.

21 Oct 2011

Young docs not so keen on immunizations: Survey

A cross-sectional survey of 551 healthcare providers and noted that more recent graduates were less likely to think that vaccines were efficacious said Saad Omer, assistant professor of Emory University in Atlanta. They were also more likely to have doubts about the safety of some vaccines, Omer told reporters at the 49th annual meeting of the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA).

20 Oct 2011

Americans on a sodium high: CDC report

A new study by federal government researchers shows that most Americans consume too much sodium, and new strategies and stronger efforts are needed to reduce the amount of dietary salt. Experts add that high levels of sodium consumption are associated with increased risk of high blood pressure, which can lead to heart disease and stroke.

20 Oct 2011

A more accurate blood test to detect fetal Downs syndrome launched

Pregnant mothers in the U.S. who wish to know whether they're carrying a fetus with Down syndrome now have access to a commercial genetic blood test that has a 99 per cent accuracy rate.

20 Oct 2011

Crib protect by removal of bumpers: AAP

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommended Tuesday that parents stop using all bumper pads in cribs because of the risks to infants. The academy previously warned only against pillow-like versions of these cushions attached to crib slats. Last month, Chicago banned the sale of all bumpers, and Maryland health officials proposed a statewide ban.

20 Oct 2011

Women with MET genetic variant and autoantibodies more likely to have autistic children

A study by researchers at UC Davis has found that pregnant women with a particular gene variation are more likely to produce autoantibodies to the brains of their developing fetuses and that the children of these mothers are at greater risk of later being diagnosed with autism.

20 Oct 2011

Pediatrician offers ten Halloween safety tips

Halloween is approaching, and many parents may wonder if trick-or-treating is safe. Dr. Luz Adriana Matiz, pediatrician at NewYork-Presbyterian/Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital, suggests that with a few precautions, Halloween can be a happy and safe occasion for all. Dr. Matiz suggests that children limit trick-or-treating to familiar neighborhoods and neighbors.

20 Oct 2011

IRIN examines improvements in maternal, infant mortality indicators in Myanmar

IRIN examines maternal and child health in "conflict-afflicted eastern Myanmar, [where] until recently obstetric care was often crude, unsterile and dangerous for both mother and child, health experts say." To address high rates of maternal and infant mortality in the region, "in 2005 several CBOs, the Center for Public Health and Human Rights at Johns Hopkins University, and the Global Health Access Program launched the Mobile Obstetric Medics (MOM) project -- dramatically boosting access to care," IRIN writes.

20 Oct 2011

USAID, Kimberly-Clark announce partnership to improve maternal, child health in Andean region

USAID and Kimberly-Clark Corporation, a manufacturer of health and hygiene products, on Tuesday announced "they will work together to improve maternal and child health in the Andean region, starting in Colombia and Ecuador," according to a USAID press release.

20 Oct 2011

Experimental vaccine halves risk of malaria in African children, results of large clinical trial suggest

"An experimental vaccine from GlaxoSmithKline halved the risk of African children getting malaria in a major clinical trial, making it likely to become the world's first shot against the deadly disease," according to a study "presented at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's Malaria Forum conference in Seattle and published simultaneously in the New England Journal of Medicine" on Tuesday, Reuters reports.

20 Oct 2011

Pesticides, pollutants increase risk of spina bifida and anencephaly in rural China

Pesticides and pollutants are related to an alarming 450 percent increase in the risk of spina bifida and anencephaly in rural China, according to scientists at The University of Texas at Austin and Peking University.

20 Oct 2011

Breastfeeding during minor procedures mitigates pain in preterm neonates

Poorly managed pain in the neonatal intensive care unit has serious short- and long-term consequences, causing physiological and behavioral instability in preterm infants and long-term changes in their pain sensitivity, stress arousal systems, and developing brains. In a study published in the November issue of PAIN-, researchers report that breastfeeding during minor procedures mitigated pain in preterm neonates with mature breastfeeding behaviors.

19 Oct 2011